Lance Greenfield's Blog, page 32
February 11, 2019
a story in every line.
I am bowled over by the talent of Shania McDonagh. I don’t think that I have ever seen a pencil drawing that is anywhere near as good as this one.
If YOU have, please tell me about it. Better still, share it with us.
My Mum was very talented, but even she would concede that Shania is at least one-hundred times her better.
I didn't have my glasses on....
A pencil drawing by a 16 year old Irish girl has won a National Art Competition. Shania McDonagh is tipped as a future top artist. The man she drew is a Fisherman and Seaweed Harvester named Coleman Coyne. There’s a story in every line.
“His name is Coleman Coyne, and he’s from Connemara in County Galway. He passed away earlier this year. The portrait is done using graphite pencil, and it took around 100 hours of drawing to complete the portrait.” – Shania McDonagh
—
“youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.”
-stanislaw jerzy lec
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credits: soul alchemy, word porn
Book Review: Codename Villanelle (Killing Eve #1) by Luke Jennings
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It has been a long time since I gave any book a five star rating, but this one truly deserves it. The ending left me breathless and hungry for more. Although I have many books currently sitting on my TBR mountain, I am going to have to skip over them all to read the next installment, No Tomorrow.
The pace is tremendous and the narrative is never boring. Read it in bed and you will be staring at your clock, wondering if it is really three in the morning.
I started reading Villanelle because I was so impressed by the TV series, Killing Eve and the brilliant performances of Jodie Comer as the cold-hearted protagonist and Sandra Ohas her obsessed pursuer. Although the characters and theme are the same, there are major differences between the book and the drama series. Those differences make it all the more interesting.
There were points of personal interest. For example, the references to a certain Army camp are clearly references to one in which I served a significant part of my own military career. All of the buildings are gone now, but it remains as private Ministry of Defence land. There are also references to places within cities with which I am very familiar, not least the Bois du Boulogne, where Villanelle takes her morning run. I have run around there many times prior to breakfast and work in La Défense.
I thoroughly enjoyed a long passage in which Eve, her colleagues and some clever friends crack a password on a locked file. Limited to three attempts, it is extremely unlikely that they would be able to crack the password in the way that they did, but it was very inventive and a lot of fun for the characters and for the reader.
So, there is nothing left for me to say, except, “Bring on the next volume!”
February 3, 2019
Eyemouth Disaster
Despite the warnings, despite the storm, they rolled out to sea from Eyemouth on that fateful day of October 1881.
For weeks, they had been unable to sail because of prevailing weather.
They were not greedy. It was their livelihood. They just wanted to earn enough to feed their families. 45 boats left harbour; only 26 returned. 189 men perished. 93 women were widowed. 267 children lost their fathers.
Two days later, out of the sea mist, Ariel Gazelle returned with all her crew. Out of the darkness of tragedy, shone a shaft of light and life.
[image error]
Ariel Gazelle. Photo courtesy of Eyemouth Museum.
This is my submission for the
Flash Fiction Challenge in the Carrot Ranch Literary Community on 31st January 2019.
The prompt is ‘
Sea Mist’ – 99 words exactly.
[image error]
George C. Bailey Photography 2019
Footnote (4th February)
I am grateful to David Dougal of Eyemouth for subsequently sending this article to me.
[image error]
The Eyemouth Disaster
Despite the warnings, despite the storm, they rolled out to sea from Eyemouth on that fateful day of October 1881.
For weeks, they had been unable to sail because of prevailing weather.
They were not greedy. It was their livelihood. They just wanted to earn enough to feed their families. 45 boats left harbour; only 26 returned. 189 men perished. 93 women were widowed. 267 children lost their fathers.
Two days later, out of the sea mist, Ariel Gazelle returned with all her crew. Out of the darkness of tragedy, shone a shaft of light and life.
This is my submission for the
Flash Fiction Challenge in the Carrot Ranch Literary Community on 31st January 2019.
The theme is ‘
Sea Mist’ – 99 words exactly.
[image error]
George C. Bailey Photography 2019
January 30, 2019
Film Review: Stan and Ollie
John C Reilly as Oliver Hardy and Steve Coogan as Stan Laurel. Photograph: Aimee Spinks/eOne
This film is a roller-coaster of comedy and tragedy. I laughed and I cried. I felt touched by the nostalgia, remembering the times that I watched those marvellous Laurel and Hardy films and where I was and what I was doing as I listened to “Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.”
The performances of Steve Coogan and John C Reilly were authentic. The audience were swept along by the believable characters. I already loved Laurel and Hardy. As I left the cinema, I loved them even more.
The “girls,” Lucille and Ida, were also excellent. Shirley Henderson and Nina Ariana, brought them to life. The tensions were palpable and intense.
This is an excellent film. Don’t miss it!
January 29, 2019
Book Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The story of the occupation of Guernsey by the German Army during the latter years of the Second World War is beautifully told in a series of letters between the characters. It takes some time to form one’s impressions of each of the characters and their relationships with the others. This is a deliberate build-up by the author, and you should be patient. You will be rewarded.
The characters are delightful and I fell in love with several of them. I shed a few tears too, but that is not unusual for me.
The title of the book bears some explanation, and, when you come to it during the course of your reading, that explanation is sure to delight you. I promise! How did the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society come into being? And why Potato Peel Pie?
You’ll just have to read it for yourself, because I’m not going to tell you.
January 26, 2019
Film Review: Mary Queen of Scots
[image error]This is a very good film but it is not a great film.
Perhaps I am being unfair, as it is only natural that I make some comparison with the film that I saw last week, The Favourite, which is definitely a great film.
It is an historical fiction with no real surprises. It is gory. It is well acted. The make-up and costumes are excellent.
Most of us know the history of Queen Elizabeth I and her cousin, Queen Mary. Mary was surrounded by people whom she could not trust. Had she been ruthless with those who crossed her, using the strength of those who were loyal to her, history may have had a very different outcome.
I do think it is a film that is worth seeing and I recommend it.
The Annual Bloggers Bash Awards are Back!
This is a great event. Excellent company.
A wide variety of blogs and people..
Well-deserved awards.
I’m buzzing already.
Come along and join the fun.
Now in its fifth year, the Annual Bloggers Bash returns bigger and better than ever. The venue is booked, the date is set for Saturday 15th June 2019 and the committee is busy working behind the scenes to ensure the day is full of fun, learning opportunities, networking, and, of course, the Blogtastic award ceremony. For more information about events on the day, click here!
The Awards
The Annual Bloggers Bash Awards are open to bloggers from all over the world, and are nominated and voted for by the blogging community and general public.
This year, we have changed a number of the categories and the process in which the nominations happen, so please read the information below carefully.
View original post 657 more words
January 22, 2019
Book Review: Euphonics – A Poet’s Dictionary of Enchantments by John Michell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This wonderful book was a thoughtful gift from my BFF, Eloise De Sousa, who has encouraged me in my quest to become a published poet.
Everybody loves alliteration. Well, almost everybody. Many people don’t even realise that they love alliteration yet reading a story or a poem that is littered with alliteration gives them a warm and comfortable feeling.
This book explains why that is the case. It also explains how the use of each letter of the alphabet, and even sounds such as “CH” and “SL” affect our moods. We are treated with snippets of poetry to illustrate the points that are being made, which are further enhanced by the wonderful drawings of Merrily Harpur.
Allow me to show you with a quote from the book on the page that explains “SL”.
“Since you’re such a slippery slug,”
Hissed Sally with a sullen shrug,
“Slink to Susie’s sluttish slum.
She’s your sort of slimy scum.”
Isn’t that wonderful? How does it make you feel?
In this delightful book of treasures, you will reach the end of each page with a different feeling and you will understand much more about the endless possibilities that good use of letters and sounds can bring to your writing.
It is a perfect complement to The Elements of Eloquence: How to Turn the Perfect English Phrase by Mark Forsyth, which my father, Tony Greenfield, gifted to me about four years ago.
View all my reviews
January 21, 2019
Book Review: The Nameless Children by Toni Bunnell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The idea behind the story is very clever and creative. As you would expect, mortality of babies in the mid-nineteenth century was much higher than it is today. Very often, these babies were buried in mass graves without even being named. Imagine ten tiny bodies being stacked into a single grave.
Many years later, in the current era, four of these children emerge from the grave as teenagers, full of resentment and driven by a desire for revenge on the descendants of those who put them there. As they learn to communicate and to survive in the modern world, they discover more about the circumstances of their deaths and burials and they interact with the community around them.
It gets scary!
The story is very well written and it drew me in like a river in flood. I was swept along.
The ending is worth waiting for.
The author seems to use her novel as a vehicle for expressing many personal views. There is nothing wrong with that except that it does sometimes tend to distract from the main storyline. I am sure that some would disagree with me and say that the opposite is true, that it enhances the telling of the story. For example, is the view that the life of a dog belonging to a homeless person being better than that of a dog who lives in a house and is often left alone for hours at a time, relevant to the story? Perhaps it is. You’ll have to read the book to get the context.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a ghoulish, spooky ghost story.
